Madolia Domendos

Film Review

Madolia Domendos
1/13/16
Dystopian Society Meets Utopian Society in the GiverThe Giver is an action film filled with fantasy and drama based on The Giver novel by Lois Lowry. The Giver was filmed by Phillip Noyce— an outstanding filmmaker. The hero and protagonist Jonas, played by Brenton Thwaites has two best friends, Asher who is played by Cameron Monaghan and Fiona who is played by Odeya Rush.
Jonas, Asher and Fiona are three friends who live in a world of sameness and black and white. In this world, everyone is expected to use precise language, wear their assigned clothing, obey the curfew and most of all, to never lie. On the day of graduation, a ceremony of advancement takes place in which everyone will be assigned their roles in the community by the Chief elder who is played by Meryl Streep. Jonas is assigned to be the Receiver of memory. Jeff Bridges who plays the Giver trains Jonas to take on his role. Every single memory, emotion, color and death that the Giver holds of the communities is shared with Jonas. Jonas becomes intrigued in his role and when he learns of the emotion “love” he skips his morning injections that are supposed to stop affectionate feelings that the community calls “stirrings” when he realizes that he loves Fiona.
The contrast of Jonas’ age in the film from the book works extremely well. In the book Jonas is 12 years old but in the film Jonas is 16 years old. With the slightly romantic scenes depicted between Jonas and Fiona, it makes more sense for Jonas to be of the age 16. The visionary of the film works in contrast to the book. In the book, the community seems to be extremely simple and dull, while the film lacks that simplicity. The community in the film is much more of a fantasy world with futuristic technology such as holograms. In the adaptation film, director Noyce also includes a beginning of black and white scenes to depict the “sameness” between the characters and then once Jonas begins to receive memories of color the audience begins to see the colorful community through Jonas’s eyes.
If films like the Hunger Games and Divergent are appealing to you, then the Giver might just be the film to see. The Giver is an inspirational film that sends a huge message about courage. At the beginning of the film Jonas is terrified that there will be no assignment role fit for him but then we see character development because Jonas learns the truth about society and realizes that he has to make a change. The film is very similar to the novel, but the differences in the film is what makes the Giver an amazing movie to see.